Aquarium Center

Finally I have solved my aquarium dilemma, with this! Pictured here is half of the wire shelf "server rack" that formally was in my wiring closet (the server is still, somewhat uncomfortably, on the other half), holding my two 20 gallon aquariums. Despite it's flimsy appearance wire shelving is amazingly strong; the full 4-shelf unit is rated to safely hold 1,200 pounds! Obviously these two tanks won't weigh anywhere near the 600 pound limit of the half-unit.

The lower, and somewhat poorly lit, tank is where the goldfish are headed. Though I have said in the past that I consider a 55 gallon the minimum aquarium for goldfish the fish that I have now are comparatively small, and I currently only have two left (sadly the koi and two of the goldfish died shortly after their move). I'll have to get used to the lighting, I generally use dual-bulb shoplights equipped with "grow lamp" bulbs for a 55 gallon aquarium.
The top tank is for an aspect of aquaculture that, though I left in disgust, I have come to sorely miss: Saltwater "reef" aquariums. I have learned from the mistakes I made last time, and by using the smaller aquarium I can build a very nice micro-reef for a fraction of the cost of stocking a 55 gallon tank. The project is less expensive in every aspect: First I plan on filling the tank with Culligan water, to eliminate the problems I had last time using municipal water. Second, it will require less salt to achieve the proper density. Third, between the smaller size and shallower tank it will require substansially less lighting for proper coral growth than a 55 (which is close to 3 times as tall). And finally since it's a smaller tank I am far less likely to get carried away trying to stock it. As I already own all the equipment (save for a heater, which is VERY cheap) and supplies I can start slowly, with an initial investment of under $30 for a couple of pounds of "live rock" and a few hermit crabs to keep the tank's "cycle" going. The other good part about this is what I plan on populating the tank with is amongst the least expensive offerings of most saltwater shops" Shrimp, miniature crabs and snails. The corals that I want are NOT cheap, however, but there is no rush to get them: The longer I let the tank sit before adding them the better they will do.
As you can probaly see I lined the back of the to-be reef aquarium with aluminum foil. There are several reasons for this: First it hides the electrical cords. Second it blocks a lot of the natural sunlight from the window from entering the tank (though the natural sunlight is a cheap source of light, between the window, the glass, 16+ miles of air and the water most of the more beneficial frequencies have been filtered out; which tends to lead to undesirable algae growth). Third it reflects a lot of light back into the tank, and fourth I expect the uneven texture to help give the small tank some additional visual depth...
Also as you can see, despite the lack of inhabitants, Chessie already thinks this is the greatest thing ever... Are you really surprised? I'm sure not...